Sunday, March 29, 2009

The Night Dad Went To Jail

It was early in 2006 when I was getting off of work about 9PM. I usually got a ride home from Dad, but tonight, my brother Aaron, his wife Jessica, and my sister Audrey picked me up. They told me something was wrong at home: Dad was in jail.

Now, don't get my Dad wrong, he's a great guy. He loves his family and provides for them legally. The thing he'd gone to jail for was an unpaid traffic fine.

When we got home, my Mom was saying she wanted us to let Dad stay in jail, that it would "serve him right." She turned to me and said, "It's times like this I wish I had my own money!"

She stormed into her bedroom. Whether she was suggesting I give her more of my paycheck, or that Dad never gave her enough money, I don't know. I was already giving them $200 a month to stay in a room that didn't even have a door. (Seemed a bit fair, as we were renting the house.)

I turned to my brother, Drew, and said, "If you want your own money, you have to work for it." (I still stand by that statement.)

Eventually, Mom came out and said, "I don't want your father out of jail. You're the one who's working, we'll have to take your whole paycheck to care for the family."

I walked out to talk with Aaron, Jessica, and Audrey. We talked about the cost of bail for Dad, and decided we could pay it. For me, it would take almost all of the money I had left in the bank, but I thought, "Be broke now, or never have any extra money again." I helped them pay the bail.

You see, this is just an example of how weird my Mom is. This is one thing that made me decide it was time to move out just a few months later.